RACES: Tame Panthers?

For much of their six-year history, the Black
Panthers wandered in a wilderness of violence, both rhetorical and
real. They packed guns and often sounded eager to use them. Yet that
fractious history was nowhere evident recently in Oakland, Calif., as a
neatly dressed candidate for mayor listened intently to an integrated
group of elderly voters. They were complaining about muggers and purse
snatchers. "I know the roughness in this community," the candidate
replied. "My own mother's purse has been stolen. I plan to offer a
program to stop muggings and prevent this constant preying on the
elderly."